You’re no exception to the rule

Singapore is a great little country in Southeast Asia that is definitely worth a visit. Unless you plan on bringing drugs. I’m not writing this as a warning, I don’t think you should be using drugs period. Unless it’s for medical reasons of course.

Possession of drugs can get you the death penalty in some countries, Singapore being one of them. You can also get a fine for chewing gum since it’s illegal there to assure a clean city. This might sound ridiculous to you if you’re a drug or gum enthusiast. But for countries like Singapore, this is the norm. Southeast Asian countries don’t take drugs lightly. Also, don’t bring Durian on the bus ya dingus!

You might think: “but I’ve only got these bags of weed for recreational use, what’s the big deal?”. That doesn’t matter. If you get caught, you risk getting hanged. It has happened, and it will happen again. You’re no exception to the rule.

Countries all have their own laws, cultures, religions and habits and if you plan on visiting a country you are to respect this. You don’t have to agree with it or like it, but you do have to respect it. The abovementioned scenario was just an example. There are many instances where people made big mistakes outside their homeland. You’d think people would be up-to-date on another country’s rules and culture when they plan on visiting it.

Death penalty for drug possession isn’t an example of oppression or an unreasonable law for that matter. For you it might be, but for some countries it’s not. It might be extreme, but you won’t get hanged if you don’t bring drugs. It really is that simple. Now, if you look at authoritarian regimes that oppress their people, that’s a different story. That’s bad. But unless your goal is overthrowing the government, I’d suggest you stay out of it. For your own sake.

If you really can’t respect another country’s ways, don’t visit the country. I’m not praising certain country’s laws or habits in this article, I’m saying that you need to be aware because you are not an exception to the rule. No matter how much you disagree with the rule.

The world is different, and just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s wrong or crazy. Now I’d be the last person to deny there aren’t crazy, backwards regimes out there. But that’s a story for another day.

Stay safe out there guys, don’t make your life more troublesome by doing stupid things that can easily be prevented. Because you know what they say: if you grab the bull by the horns, you might go to jail in India.